Congressmen watching words during process

Redistricting bill

Posted: Monday, March 28, 2005

By Jeffrey McMurrayAssociated Press

WASHINGTON - Some of Georgia's congressional districts have shapes that only the lawmakers who represent them could love. And if those shapes are changed by the state Legislature, as expected in the coming week, there will be plenty of love for the new ones too.

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Few topics send members of Congress tiptoeing on political eggshells more delicately than redistricting. Last week was no exception as Georgia's representatives in Washington watched from afar as the Legislature attempted to shuffle their bosses - the voters.

Republicans wanting to re-draw the lines to perhaps expand their 7-6 congressional advantage in upcoming elections were careful not to insult the current constituents much, in case they have to run for those seats again. Democrats trying to block the new map were careful not to demonize the proposed districts, knowing those could well be their future constituents.

"Pretty is as pretty does," said Rep. John Barrow, a first-term Democrat in eastern Georgia's 12th District. "If you've got pretty maps that don't fairly represent the population of the state and do not fairly protect the gains the minority made, it might be pretty on the map but it's not pretty as it works, so you've got problems."

Republicans, who control both chambers of the Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction, say the maps drawn by Democrats in 2001 unfairly carved the state in order to help their own party. The Legislature usually redraws maps once every decade, after getting new population figures from the U.S. census, but Republicans have made recrafting the congressional map a top priority this year.

Democratic critics say redrawing the districts is unnecessary, since federal judges have signed off on the map, and call it a power grab by Republicans bent on maximizing their power.

The proposed map divides fewer counties and voting precincts than the current plan, and eliminates many of the bizarre shapes Republicans have criticized.

Barrow, who is from Athens, said he has no beef with the new district Republicans are trying to carve for him, which would not include his hometown and could make a GOP candidate more competitive there. It's changes to other seats - those currently held by Democrat Jim Marshall of Macon in middle Georgia and Republican Phil Gingrey of Marietta in northwestern Georgia - that Barrow says concern him.

Under the proposed changes, blacks in those districts would have less of an influence in elections, Barrow says. The courts would have to decide whether those districts are compliant under the Voting Rights Act.

Gingrey, on the other hand, would appear to be a near shoo-in for future re-election bids if the courts approve the new version of his district, which excludes some majority black, predominantly Democratic counties he currently represents. But a spokeswoman for the congressman says he has mixed feelings about the change.

"We are obviously sad to lose the people in the southern part of our district," spokeswoman Becky Ruby said. "You give up some of this for what is ultimately a better map for everybody."